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I have been wanting to try making a pastilla for a while now and when I saw a recipe for a chicken and date pastilla in this months Food & Drink magazine it was like fate as I still had a bunch of fresh medjool dates! A pastilla (aka bastilla, bisteeya, b'steeya, bstilla and b'stilla) is a sweet and savoury Moroccan meat pie that is wrapped in light and flaky phyllo dough. The pastilla contains a lot of my favorite things from a good tagine including a really nice combination of Moroccan spices, tender meat, sweet dates and raisins, slivered almonds and fresh parsley and cilantro. After the pie is baked until the phyllo is nice and golden brown, light and flaky it is dusted with icing sugar and cinnamon adding another nice layer of sweet to weave into the already complex dish. This pie takes a bit of effort to make but it is well worth the trouble! The pastilla is a perfect combination of sweet and savoury and the flavours, textures and the spicy aroma will just make you swoon. I am certainly looking forward to enjoying the leftovers!

Chicken and Date Pastilla

Servings: 6

ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 pounds chicken breast (about 4 chicken breasts)

2 onions (sliced)

4 cloves garlic (chopped)

1 tablespoon cumin (toasted and ground)

2 teaspoons ginger

1 teaspoon cloves

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon chili flakes

1 teaspoon turmeric

1 pinch saffron

2 cups chicken stock

3 eggs

1 cup dates (pitted and chopped coarsely)

1/4 cup raisins

1/4 cup cilantro

1/4 cup parsley

1/2 cup slivered almonds (toasted)

salt and pepper to taste

8 sheets phyllo dough

1/2 cup olive oil

icing sugar and cinnamon

directions

Heat the oil in a pan.

Add the chicken, skin down, brown and set aside.

Add the onions and saute until tender, about 7-12 minutes.

Add the garlic, cumin, ginger, cloves, cinnamon, chili flakes, turmeric and saffron and saute until fragrant, about a minute.

Put the chicken back in the pan along with the stock, cover and simmer until the chicken is cooked, about 30 minutes.

Remove the chicken, let it cool and shred it.

Put the chicken back in the pan along with the eggs, dates, raisins, cilantro and almonds, mix and season with salt and pepper.

Place a sheet of phyllo on your working surface and brush with the olive oil.

Place a sheet of phyllo on top forming a plus sign and brush with olive oil and repeat until all sheets are done.

Place the phyllo into a 9 inch spring form pan, fill with the chicken mixture and fold the overhanging phyllo over the top sealing the pie.

Brush the top with olive oil.

Bake in a preheated 375F/190C oven until golden brown, about 30-40 minutes.

This is one of those perfect, perfect dishes because the flavors are complex! The sweet and savory combo is already delish, but once you combine the soft, warm inside with a crisp crust, it's maaaaaagic.

I'm salivating just thinking about this... but I can't make it today! Everybody around here will die if I make something like this again... I just made Moroccan chicken with figs, before that a beef/lentil/fig/turnip stew, and before that two chicken almost-curries. (also, every one of those dishes had ginger) I think if dates turn up in the food tonight I might be the only one eating it :P

i LOVE pastilla: when I was in Morocco we had it almost every day (including a version made with the traditional pigeon...) I always think about making it and then don't do it... thanks for the inspiration!

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About Me

I came to realize that my meals were boring and that I had been eating the same few dishes over and over again for years. It was time for a change! I now spend my free time searching for, creating and trying tasty new recipes in my closet sized kitchen.